Upcoming Live Music

No bloody axes, no broken (drum) heads . . . but October's musical offering is scary. It starts with Mike Watt's grizzly braun and ends with All-4-One's silky throats. Take a stab at the music in October.

Mike Watt & Friends

The bass behind the faces in the Minutemen and fIREHOSE, Watt has always courted chaos . . . and emerged with tight rock. This tour features a revolving door of special guests including Evan Dando, Eddie Vedder, and various & sundry members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and Sonic Youth. The promoter of this show swears that he doesn't know who of this all-star cast will appear at Watt's Louisville show. You'll just have to show up and find out for yourself.

Date: Oct. 3

Place: Brewery's Thunderdome

Opener: Six Finger Satellite

Days of Wine and Rosen

Local harp great Jim Rosen has cancer, but he doesn't have health insurance. Therefore, his friends and fellow musicians have banded together for the Days of Wine and Rosen, a series of benefits to help out the big-hearted bear of a man. These tributes seem as much a celebration of Rosen as a fundraiser for his hospital bills. The first of the series serves also as the 3rd Annual Harmonica Showdown, featuring the area's best harp players plus special appearances by guitarists Duke Robillard and Greg Martin.

Date: Oct. 4

Place: Butchertown Pub

This show allows some of the area's rock and soul groups to show their support.

Date: Oct. 5

Place: Phoenix Hill Tavern

A Spanky Lee reunion is planned for this benefit, which may also feature Edenstreet.

Date: Oct. 8

Place: Coyote's Backstage Blues Cafe

Shenandoah

These former Muscle Shoals studio musicians currently have a hit with their duet with Alison Krauss, "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart."

Date: Oct. 6

Place: Coyote's

Billy Ray Cyrus

It used to be that few people were ambivalent about Cyrus -- you either loved him or you hated him. Enough people loved him and his achy breaky heart to make him a superstar. Now, there may be enough ambivalence toward Flatwoods, Ky.'s most famous son to vacate a few of the Palace's seats.

Date: Oct. 6

Place: Palace Theatre

Juliana Hatfield

Her pop soul-searching has earned her legions of fans, but there will be a fair amount of people at this show to hear the opener, The John Doe Thing." The former X member has a great new album out; see the review on page 14.

Date: Oct. 6

Place: Brewery's Thunderdome

Opener: The John Doe Thing

Asleep at the Wheel

Danceable, well-executed Western swing and a touch of comedy mean Asleep at the Wheel's show will be a certifiably fun concert. The band is still hot from the release of their Bob Wills tribute album and their own "Red Wing" album.

Date: Oct. 11

Place: Coyote's

King Kong

The peculiar, unrefined rock of King Kong has a purpose on this night: to celebrate the release of their Drag City Records release, a wry tragi-comedy about a love triangle that includes a spurned yak.

Date: Oct. 13

Place: The Cherokee

Opener: The Belgian Waffles

Buddy Guy, Lonnie Mack & Koko Taylor

This is one of the best blues lineups imaginable. If you are a fan of blues guitar, Buddy Guy is simply not to be missed.

Date: Oct. 13

Place: Palace Theatre

Love Jones

Their new album moves out of the lounge and into the supper club. Sweet pop harmonies and Latin hooks from Louisville's favorite expatriates.

Date: Oct. 13

Place: Brewery's Thunderdome

Garvin Gates Blue Festival

This annual blues festival in Old Louisville always manages to draw some fine acts to our town. This year, the Kentucky Harvest fundraiser presents Mississippi Heat with Dietra Farr, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Byther Smith & The Kingsnakes, plus local faves Foree Wells, Sue O'Neil and the Red Snapper Blkues Band. Music starts at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m on Sunday.

Date: Oct. 13-15

Place: Garvin Place at Oak Street

Freakwater

Contemporary old-time country? It might not seem possible, but Freakwater do it, and do it well. Check out Janet Bean and Cathy Irwin's vocal harmonies -- yum. The Spurs are an acoustic country duet featuring Rat, the lead screamer of Kinghorse. The word is that Rat also writes a mean country tune.

Date: Oct. 15

Place: The Cherokee

Opener: The Spurs

Filter

Filter is accused of being a Nine Inch Nails wannabe, but their fans say it ain't so. Everclear is a favorite of critics but has yet to capture the public's fancy.

Date: Oct. 15

Place: Brewery's Thunderdome

Opener: Everclear

Stomp

This theatrical percussion ensemble will play seven shows, including afternoon matinees on Saturday and Sunday. The group uses humor and various "found" percussion tools to create a unique show.

Date: Oct. 18 - 22

Place: Macauley Theatre

Carrie Newcomer

The pride of Bloomington, Ind., Newcomer is a moving singer/songwriter with a spiritual side. Her nationally distributed album "The Bird Or the Wing" is garnering great praise from the press.

Date: Oct. 20

Place: The Rudyard Kipling

Dick Dale

He stands like a colossus over the sea of surf guitarists, a monument to hard-edged guitars with a tremolo undertow. Sounds scary, and it is.

Date: Oct. 22

Place: Brewery's Thunderdome

Opener: Bodeco

All-4-One

Do R&B vocal harmonies make your skin shiver? Then make plans to see All-4-One, the quartet that brought the hit "I Swear" into the homes of pop music listeners. Their publicity material claims that "I Swear" is the third most successful single of the rock era, having roosted at #1 for eleven straight weeks.

Date: Oct. 31

Place: Palace Theatre